SL-145-1
GEOLOGY AND MINING
Coal bearing strata in the project area are referable primarily to the Allegheny Group of
Pennsylvania age. These rocks occur as dissected remnants overlying the ridge-forming
Pottsville sandstone on the relatively flat mountain tops of a strongly dissected plateau. The
coals are found in the Blossburg syncline which traverses the project northeastward from Pine
Creek
to the divide at Arnot. The divide separates the Babb Creek Watershed from the Tioga River
Watershed to the east.
In the vicinity of Arnot, the valley floor is formed by a local unconsolidated glacial valley
moraine reported as much as 80 feet thick. The glacial fill is comprised of well-graded material
from clay to rounded cobbles with occasional boulders. Gravel pits are common in the area. Thin
glacial terraces are present at higher elevations. In many places the glacial material is mantled with
colluvial overburden on the hillside. Indications of glacial influence are found throughout the area.
Some upland swampy areas contain deposits of fine impervious glacial clays which seal local flats
or basin-like depressions over the more porous bedrock.
Six coals are present, four of which were mined in the project area.
Table I and Figure I lists the coals in stratigraphic order and gives their positions relative to the Bloss
coal, the major seam mined in the area. Although most of the coals are referable to Allegheny strata,
it is possible that the lowest coal, the Bear Creek, may be correlated with the Mercer coal of the
Pottsville Group. Precise correlations between the coals of Tioga County and the standard named
coals of western Pennsylvania have not been made.
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The geologic column, Figure I, does include an attempt to relate these coals to the
standard section of western Pennsylvania. Most coals are poorly understood throughout the
district and numerous inconsistencies in detailed stratigraphy and nomenclature exist.
The Bear Creek coal, though prospected in a few places, has not been mined.
The Bloss coal ("B") is the principal mined coal of the area. It is a widespread double-bedded
coal aggregating 5 to 8 feet or more in thickness. The two benches tend to be separated by a parting
ranging from a few inches to a thick layer up to 16' thick comprised variously of clay, black to gray
shale, and sometimes sandstone. Often only one of the benches was mined. The remaining bed may
have been too thin or impure for recovery under the economic criteria employed at the time. The
lower bench has been called the "Bear Creek" coal by some operators when the upper is the
dominant economic bench. The Bloss coal probably correlates directly with the Lower Kittanning coal
as evidenced by
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similarity of plant fossils and petrographic characteristics of the coal.
The average 120 foot interval between the Bloss and the Seymour coal contains two, or
possibly three, discontinuous and irregular coal beds. The lower coal, identified here as the
Cushing, is typically found about 40 feet above the main mined Bloss coal and is reported to be
0.5 to more than 5 feet thick. The coal was named for the bed found at the Cushing mine just east
of Antrim where the. seam is well developed. The coal is reported to be dirty and pyritic in places.
The coal name "Morgan" is employed for the coal (or coals) which are found about 80 feet
above the Bloss seam, but vary widely from that average interval. This coal has been reported to
attain thicknesses of 5 1/2 feet locally east of Antrim. A conglomeratic sandstone commonly
present just above the Morgan coal has been termed the "Monkey Ledge". Sandstone and sandy
shale dominate the strata between the Morgan and the Seymour coals. The strata below the
Morgan tends to contain more shaly members, though much sandstone is also commonly present.
The Seymour coal (D) exists only as remnants on the higher hills. This is the highest mined
coal in the project area. The coal, reported to be about 3 feet thick, is persistent and is usually
present about 120 to 140 feet above the Bloss. The Rock Vein (E?), about 170 feet above the
Bloss, was not identified in the area and may be completely eroded away.
The geologic map (Plate II) delineates the position and lay of significant coals in the area as
presently, understood. It should be emphasized that the strata are reported to be rolly in places
and the area contains other suspected minor faults which could not be verified during this study.
Typical Columnar Sections for three mining complexes in the study area are
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presented in Figures II through IV as a guide to strata encountered and their intervals for the
specific area. Lateral and vertical variations in strata are extremely common.
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SL-145-1
HISTORY OF DEEP MINING IN THE BABB CREEK WATERSHED
The discovery of coal at Blossburg in 1792 preceeded the humble efforts for its early
development during the first 20 years of the 19th century. The first drift was thought to have been
opened around 1815 on what was described as the "fifth vein from the surface". This became
known as "Clemon's coal". Subsequent mining efforts near Blossburg were concentrated on the
"sixth vein" called Bloss coal, which was described as a "lower vein of good quality". The "fifth"
and "sixth" veins were reported to be only 11 feet apart.
The first mines in the Babb Creek Watershed were probably opened in Arnot around the year
1865. There is evidence the first mine in Arnot was located at the headwaters of Lick Creek, west of
the village. Arnot No. 1, Arnot No. 2 and the Klondike Mine lie within the watershed, while the other
mines were opened along Johnson Creek which flows to the Tioga River. The Blossburg Coal
Mining and Railroad Company was formed in 1866 in order to develop this coal deposit on the Bloss
vein. The railroad was extended from Blossburg, 4 miles northeast of the village site, which at.that
time was named Drakeville. Within 15 years Arnot had become the largest community in Tioga
County, with 1,400 men working in the mines and a population of between 3,500 and 4,000.
In 1881 the Arnot and Pine Creek Railroad Company was organized and a standard gauge
railroad constructed from Arnot to Hoytville, just south of Morris. A year later the Blossburg Coal
Mining and Railroad Company built a sawmill along this railroad 5 miles southwest of Arnot and the
village of Landrus became established. In 1888 the company opened the Bear Run Mines on the
northern flank of the Babb Creek Valley opposite the new community of Landrus and by the year 1895
a force of 272 men was employed in the mine.
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Production records from the mines at Arnot are not available; however, statistics from the
mine inspector's report in 1895 may be comparative. This report showed the mines at Arnot
(including the Klondike) produced 262,416 tons of coal, and those at Landrus (Bear Run Mine)
produced 126,694 tons.
In 1885 the railroads owned by the Blossburg Coal Mining and Railroad Company were sold
to the "Erie" and the company name changed to the Blossburg Coal Company. Prior to their
closing, the mineral rights for the Arnot No. 1, Arnot No. 2, the Klondike and Bear Run Mines were
transferred from this company to the Northwest Mining and Exchange Corporation.
Shortly after the opening of mines in Arnot, stockholders from the Fall Brook Coal Company
incorporated the Lawrenceville and Wellsboro Railroad Company after explorations for coal in 18661868 on lands owned by William Bache proved favorable. These lands were located at the
headwaters of Bridge Run, a tributary of Wilson Creek, near what later became the village of Antrim.
Production from the Antrim No. 1 Drift did not begin on a large scale until 1872 when the railroad was
completed. The early mining in Antrim was on the Bloss coal, although old miners have stated that
both the ("B") and ("C") coal veins were later mined.
On the western flank of the Wilson Creek Valley the Fall Brook Coal Company also opened
and developed the Anna S Mine on the Bloss vein. At one time coal from the Anna S was
transported to Antrim via a cable bucket system extending across Wilson Creek. Records show the
mines at Antrim produced 122,408 tons of coal in 1895. This probably does not include production
from the Anna S Mine since there are indications the mine did not open until the late 1890's.
North of the Main Entry of the Anna S are several drift openings known locally as the Mitchell
Mines. Early maps show this area to have been owned by the England Mining Company.
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One mile west of the Anna S is the Rattler Mine which was opened in the early 1900's by the
Tioga Coal Company. The mine was later owned by E. Manford Hart and Son until closing in 1958.
Of an estimated 8,000 acres of workable coal lying in the Babb Creek Watershed, there is
evidence that over 4,000 acres were deep mined, primarily in the ("B") vein or Bloss coal seam.
At the turn of the century production from mines in Tioga County had begun to decline as a
result of increased production in Clearfield County, where coal was more economically mined.
References
Meagher, John. 1897. History of Tioga County, Pa. R. D. Brown and Co.
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